The Barkuu. Lauren Wright
Dedicated to the open mind.
Preface
One should only ever find entertainment and inspiration from a hypothetical alternate Universe. For, it is our ability to imagine, that gives us sight.
"All of life is progression; the very moment Life ceases to thrive, it begins to decay."
Chapter 1: Evo
12:05 a.m. Mid-Summer, 2045
Crap. Holy crap. He's going to kill me. He's going to kill me and bury me right here in this forest. It's so dark that no one would see. The ground is soft; you could easily dig a hole in just a few minutes, which is nice because he'd probably make me do it.
I can picture it now: "Why, no officer, I haven't seen him. He probably ran away to Hollywood." That would make sense – Emma Dinkle did it.
One day, she disappeared with her boyfriend, and no one heard from her again. Until late one night, she showed up on a pantyhose commercial. Ended up changing her name to "Emma Waters." I guess it has a certain flow to it.
Okay, Evo, concentrate. How did Furly know you were here? Forget it; just focus on getting out of here. Which way do I go?
In haste, Evo had sprinted out the backyard, across the field, and straight into the forest. There was nothing this way for hundreds of miles – just national forest scattered with hiking trails and wild animals.
At seventeen, Evo was five feet, eight inches, and weighed one hundred and sixty pounds. He was by no means massive. His actual name was Zeus, named after some burly god from a time before technology. Evo had looked it up once; he held a thunderbolt, had white hair, and hated wearing a shirt. Nothing like Evo.
His parents hadn't referred to him as "Zeus" since he was a child. His mother always said it was because "Evo" fit him so much better. "Like the next generation," she used to say. Though he suspected it was because he didn't live up to the name, unlike his brother, Bronze Adonis.
It wasn't fair; "Bronze" wasn't even his name – it was "Adonis." Named after some handsome god who wore the envy of all.
Everyone called him Bronze because of his inexplicable, natural tan. Bronze, at six feet, two inches, was as stocky as he was tall. Bronze the football star, the athlete, the favorite of everyone. Evo, by comparison, was quiet, quite pale, and much thinner. They could not have been more different.
Evo's parents weren't well educated – just simple farmer folk with good hearts. His father had taken some botany classes at the local college. It was an education that included among its electives, a Greek mythology class.
It was a class that he referred to on all available occasions, which was essentially all the time. No one was surprised when he insisted on naming his children after his favorite mythological entities.
It wouldn't be fair to call Evo "lanky," as he didn't have the stature for such a label, but "clumsy" definitely fit the description.
He never liked sports and couldn't catch a ball to save his life. Should such a scenario arise, he needed to remember to plead for a more plausible challenge.
To that extent, he had never joined an after-school club or even considered an extracurricular activity. If there is anything worse than being named after someone you can never live up to, it's being overshadowed by someone who actually does.
Bronze had the attention and admiration of cheerleaders, teachers, and parents alike. He received showers of praise from everyone, all because he could run and catch a ball (everyone, except for the one person who mattered to Evo).
The one person Evo had always had an eye for was Lily Jean Furly. He had loved LJ since they were children. For as long as he could remember, she was all he cared about.
His life had become a constant endeavor to steal a gaze, to see her smile.
The day she finally did changed his life forever. He knew then that he would someday marry this girl.
They were ten at the time, and they have been in love ever since — there was the soft look in her eye when she met his gaze. The few hairs that fell over her left eye, defiantly resisting conformity. Like them.
Everyone wanted to keep them apart. But Evo had committed to her; he was willing to risk everything for her. At a moment’s notice, he would give his life for hers, if he must. He didn't think this pledge would be put to the test.
Back in the moment
Evo had never been out this way. No one in their right mind would come out here. It was Oddam Furly's place, and he was nuts. Completely nuts. As in stalking squirrels with a banana, wearing a camouflage tutu, nuts.
I've heard the stories. Old man Furly once chased a deputy off his property with a shotgun, in his underwear. The deputy was, of course, wearing a uniform.
How could he know? He was supposed to be gone! Who ratted me out!? Forget it; just concentrate. Get through this, and then you can think about it all you want.
I can barely hear myself think, my pulse is so loud. Okay, I ran for what, eight, maybe ten minutes? I don't know, can't remember.
If he catches me, he'll kill me. He said he would when I ran. I saw the gun in the kitchen, right there for everyone to see. LJ said it's loaded. He'll kill me if he catches me. Who told him!? I bet it was Briar, that shifty snake. He's always wanted LJ!
Just catch your breath, Evo; think. Where are you? It's foggy, and I can't see a thing. Okay, remember, you ran for ten minutes, and you hit the forest after about seventy-five yards. You stopped running once you hit the woods, two minutes.
Tree limbs everywhere – if you run now, you could impale yourself. Just think about that. You would be hanging there on a tree limb, gasping for breath. He wouldn't have to kill you.
He would walk up to you laughing, probably poke you in the eye. Maybe tell you a story about garden gnomes and unicorns as he throws pebbles at your face. He wouldn't even have to try. Oh, what a glorious day for him. I can see it now. Stop! Snap out of it!
You have to concentrate if you want to make it out of this; daydreaming is what landed you here in the first place. You have to keep your mind on what you're doing. Always going off on one bunny trail or another, stop! You're doing it again!
Great, you're going to die, while on a bunny trail; about a bunny trail, literally on a bunny trail. All in the middle of the forest while being tracked by a crazy man with a gun.
Is that water? Maybe its a small creek or far away, what else do I hear? It's quiet, too quiet. Don't move. Don't try to hold your breath; you need to catch it. Breathe rhythmically, calm — concentrate, smooth in, smooth out. Now listen. Dead silent, just one more minute.
Okay, okay, think. You've made it, what, a quarter mile? You left the main trail as soon as you hit a corner in the forest. You never know if he was watching with. Probably not my best decision to leave the trail.
I mean, progress in a staggered pattern. Moving away from the trail is a great tactical move. It's what they would do in the movies; let's hope he doesn't watch movies.
With that in mind, when they do this in the films, they always seem to know which way they're supposed to go. Well, unless it's a horror movie. In which case, they would run directly for the bad guy and trip before they get there.
Ironically, looking behind them in the direction they need to go the whole time. But that's not going to happen. This is not a movie or some storybook; I have physics on my side. Crack.